Review: 910001 Castle in the Forest
Posted by FlagsNZ,
In the second of a series of reviews, I take a look at 910001 Castle in the Forest.
This set taps into the overwhelming support that exists in the LEGO community for castle themed sets that all started with the 1978 release of 375 Castle: one of the Classic themes released that year that heralded the minifigure.
Read on as I continue my series of reviews of the BrickLink Designer Program sets.
Summary
910001 Castle in the Forest, 1,957 pieces.
£132.99 / $179.99 / €149.99 | 6.8p/9.2c/7.7c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
910001 Castle in the Forest is a nostalgic return of the Forestmen themed castles of the 1980s
- Huge play potential
- Lots of detailing
- Attractive build
- Sold out early
- Fragile build
- Shipping delays
Background
The original project has been designed by Daniel, an AFOL from France - poVoq at LEGO Ideas.
Daniel has submitted several projects to LEGO Ideas. Of note is his companion castle submission: Castle of Brickwood Forest; a LEGO Ideas project that has twice reached 10,000 Supporters.
Castle in the Forest
Castle in the Forest was submitted to LEGO Ideas in early January 2020. Ten days later it had received 1,000 Supporters followed a few days later as being selected as a Staff Pick.
By mid-February 2020 it had reached 5,000 Supporters and by mid-April it reached 10,000 Supporters.
Unfortunately, the LEGO Review Board declined to take this Ideas project any further.
BrickLink Designer Program
About a year ago, LEGO announced that certain rejected LEGO Ideas projects would become available through the BrickLink Designer Program.
27 members agreed to participate and
31 10K Club projects were developed further.
From these 31 original projects, five sets were released in Round 1 of this emerging program.
The box
The box is a similar quality to the boxes produced for sets under the LEGO Ideas theme.
Castle in the Forest is designed for AFOLs 18 years or older.
The back of the box shows the castle open for play.
The overarching impression, however, is that these are sets designed by LEGO Fan designers.
Looking at the box there is only one LEGO logo and no LEGO Ideas branding.
The box for this set was delivered in this condition. It suffered some damage in transit.
The instructions
There is no printed instruction book included in this set. Instructions for 910001 Castle in the Forest can be downloaded here.
Instructions for all five Round 1 sets can be found here.
Stickers
There is a small sticker sheet included in this set.
Image copied from BrickLink
The parts
There are 1957 parts in the set which have been divided into twelve sections of numbered bags.
This set has been loaned to me and came fully built, so I haven't had the opportunity to take an image of the individual bags.
There are no unique parts and there are only a few parts that have been seen in five or fewer sets.
There are 546 separate element types in this set: Over a third of these elements (196 - 10% of the total parts) appear only once; just less than one quarter (124 - 6% of the total parts) appear twice.
70% of the element types are used in less than three instances and account for 20% of the total parts used in this set.
There are 17 separate botanic element types used in this set.
The image below shows all the spare parts remaining after the set has been built.
Interestingly, there is a spare white string although this set does not include this part in the build; a green string is used as a rope ladder in one of the trees.
The brick yellow (tan) 1x2 tile and 1x2 brick have a use elsewhere (see below in the review).
The build
Building the Castle in the Forest is divided into three distinct sub-builds:
- Bags 1 to 7 - the main castle
- Bags 8 and 9 - a small cave
- Bags 10 and 11 - one side of the castle
- Bag 12 includes the Minifigs, horse, raft and accessories
Bag 1
The foundations of the castle are built using the parts from Bags 1.
This set could quite easily be renamed the Castle in the River!
Architecturally speaking, I am not sure a stone-walled castle could be supported with foundation walls having a river running through them.
There is a set of stairs that will lead to the front entrance.
There is a small jetty hidden under the castle.
Bag 2
The build continues by extending the stairs up to the front entrance and hall.
A hidden entrance appears through the back of the fireplace.
A view of the rear of the castle with the river flowing under the arches.
Hidden in the floor of the hall is a trapdoor. Any unwary person can be dunked into the river below by pulling out the locking technic axle.
Bag 3
By the end of Bags 3, the entrance hall is complete, and some foliage is appearing on the outside of the castle walls.
A suit of armour with a Black Falcon shield sits in the hall.
Some decorations on the entrance steps and a tree trunk starts to appear.
Bag 4
The floor to the second level is completed.
The entrance portcullis will eventually slide down through this vertical channel.
Bag 5
The second level is completed with the parts from Bags 5.
There is a small balcony to the side of the castle that has openings, called embrasures, which allow archers to fire off their weapons in relative safety.
A door leads to the second floor.
It would appear that the second level is a banquet hall with a table and candles.
Bag 6
The rear wall of the castle is hinged allowing access to all the interior. This panel is clipped onto the main castle structure.
In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal jutting from a wall to carry a protruding weight.
These corbels are held on by only one stud and are easily dislodged, so they should really be called consoles.
The beginnings of the upper parapet with the first merlons appear at this stage.
Bag 7
By the end of Bags 7, the main castle module is complete.
The rear of the castle.
The rear panel opened showing access to the interior floors.
The parapet floor includes the portcullis, winch and trapdoor.
A portcullis is derived from Old French porte coleice: sliding gate.
The portcullis can be raised or lowered using the winch and locked into place to hold it open.
Bag 8
A small cave, which doubles as a hidden bedroom, starts to appear from Bag 8.
Bag 9
The cave is complete.
The cave can be opened showing a bedroom.
There is a small stove and chimney.
A small blue bird sits in the tree.
Bags 10 and 11
The remaining wall of the castle is completed with parts from Bags 10 and 11.
There is a stairway inside the castle that links the entrance hall with the banquet hall. The stairs go via a small room that forms part of this build.
The castle wall sits on one row of studs and is very weak. If you open the pivoted blue roof this wall section will be dislodged.
The foundation of this wall section is a dark stone grey Mountain Bottom, AKA BURP (Big Ugly Rock Piece).
Inside the BURP are two Stalactites in dark stone grey and a treasure chest.
The word Stalactite is derived from the Greek stalaktos: dripping.
When this section is closed, it can only be accessed from the river underneath the castle.
A wise old owl sits in the tree. This owl has only been seen in two other sets.
You can see the green rope ladder down the side of this tree.
Bag 12
Castle in the Forest comes with six minifigures.
There are two Forestmen and one Forest woman.
There is one Black Falcon knight and one Black Falcon squire.
Although not mentioned in the instructions, the brick yellow (tan) 1x2 tile and 1x2 brick (mentioned in the spare parts - above) can be used to complete the horse when the knight is dismounted.
This horse is seen in only two other sets.
There is also a Smuggler on a raft who has a Forestmen shield and a sword embedded in a tree stump.
The completed build
The completed castle with all three sections connected together, as seen from the front.
A view from the right-hand side.
The cave section hinged open.
A view from the rear of the castle. There is a distressed look to the stone masonry of the castle.
A close-up of the left-hand side of the castle. The distressed look of the blue roof shingles can be seen.
The left-hand castle wall hinged open. From this view, you can get an appreciation of the stairway in the castle.
Completely random moment: In the last image on the instructions this red crab appears on the tree. It is not included in the building instructions but the part does appear in the inventory.
Overall opinion
For any castle enthusiast, this is a must-have set.
This set has been loaned to me by my friend Colin D. He reports:
"It is a wonderful modern re-imagining of 6066 Camouflaged Outpost and 6077 Forestmens's River Fortress released in 1987 and 1989 respectively.
"It is just the sort of MOC that an AFOL would create as a tribute to those great sets from their childhood, but incorporating many modern methods; stuff usually seen in modular buildings for example."
There is also homage paid to 6054 Forestmen's Hideout.
Castle in the Forest is an extremely attractive set with loads of features built into it. If you were fortunate to purchase this set I believe this will become one of your most treasured sets.
As Colin D says, though:
"It's almost like Daniel crammed as many things into it as he could and as much stuff as he could."
It's almost as if this set could benefit from slightly less detailing.
Play features
This castle is full of play features. It includes:
- Six minifgures and a noble steed.
- Front entrance with a working portcullis
- Hidden entrance through the entrance hall fireplace
- A secret trapdoor in the entrance hall floor
- An internal stairway to the second level
- A balcony off from the second level
- A ladder and trapdoor to the upper parapet
- A rope ladder in the tree
- There is a raft and a jetty
- A small hidden cave with a treasure chest
Structural integrity
The Castle in the Forest looks great sitting on a flat surface. The build is, however, quite weakly designed, and it is just about impossible to pick up the completed castle and not have something fall off.
- The 2x2 Plate with Ball that is used to connect the sides to the main castle does not offer a strong enough connection to hold the module's weight unsupported.
- The sidewall of the castle is connected by only one row of studs and is easily dislodged.
- The corbels under the parapet break off very easily.
It would have been good to see each level of the castle built as a discrete modular level as is seen in similarly complex LEGO buildings.
Anno 1516
The date above the entrance door is ANNO 1516. Anno comes from Medieval Latin Anno: in the year of.
Daniel explains in this YouTube video the significance of the year 1516.
In the original LEGO Ideas submission, the date above the entrance door is ANNO 1392.
On the original post on LEGO Ideas submission, Daniel stated "the year inscription 'ANNO 1392.' Switch two numbers, and you get 1932 the year when the LEGO company was started."
Design and parts selection
This is an AFOL designed set that has been offered through the BrickLink Designer program.
The build itself does not have the finesse that comes from a set that has been rigorously critiqued by professional LEGO designers.
I am sure that had this set gone through such a rigorous LEGO design program, the number of individual elements used in this set would have been refined significantly.
BrickLink Crowdfunding Issues
In an article posted here at Brickset, BrickLink responded to crowdfunding problems that were experienced when the system went live on 1 June 2021.
By July, BrickLink were reporting:
The high level of demand was compounded by the site performance issues. An ordering glitch meant that people were able to pre-order 5,000 additional Castle in the Forest sets, which means we’ve received orders for 10,000 sets.
- Produce 10,000 of the Castle in the Forest sets so we can deliver to everyone who ordered.
- Re-opening pre-ordering for round 1 on August 3rd to allow the four projects Kakapo, Great Fishing Boat, Sheriff’s Safe and Pursuit of Flight to also sell up to 10,000 sets.
- Increase production for Crowdfunding rounds 2 and 3 to 10,000 each to meet demand.
The full article can be seen by clicking this link.
For any set to be selected to participate in the BrickLink Designer Program, they must have already been reached 10K Support at LEGO Ideas and then have been Not Approved.
For a set that has already had this level of publicity and support, a limited production run of 10,000 units does not make sense.
21325 Medieval Blacksmith
Here is the Castle in the Forest seen alongside 21325 Medieval Blacksmith which was a successful LEGO Ideas set released in 2021.
Castle of Brickwood Forest
Castle of Brickwood Forest is one of Daniel's other successful LEGO Ideas projects.
Castle of Brickwood Forest has twice received 10,000 Supporters. The first occasion was in April 2021 but it was Not Approved in October the same year.
Castle of Brickwood Forest was resubmitted as a LEGO Ideas project in January 2022. It was selected as a Staff Pick and reached 5,000 Supporters within three weeks, and in less than two months it reached 10,000 Supporters once more.
This is evidence that there is huge potential for LEGO to reignite the Classic-Castle theme once more.
The next review in this series will be 910028 Pursuit of Flight by JKBrickworks.
191 likes
81 comments on this article
A great review
Just makes me wish I was aware of the program going live sooner than an hour after it began. Alas. At least the recent rumors point toward a sufficient substitute coming.
Though as much as I like these massive castles, I wish that we'd also get smaller sets as well, not just the massive structures but the catapults, carriages, and defenses that fill out the lower end of a theme.
Povoq explained the significance of 1516 on his YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrI3uEoxVE0), it was the year the new testament was first published in greek.
Not sure about 1392, but 1392 Kongu lived in a forest.
Wish Lego would wake up a little and make more of this and similar sets
@kongutahu said:
"Povoq explained the significance of 1516 on his YouTube channel ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrI3uEoxVE0 ), it was the year the new testament was first published in greek.
Not sure about 1392, but 1392 Kongu lived in a forest. "
Yes. Someone else pointed that out on a shared FB post and I have edited the review accordingly. Thanks for your help.
Very nice review, thank you. It is quite interesting to compare a set that has gone through the standard Lego process vs something like this. In many ways official Lego sets are simpler but that’s not always a bad thing.
The Bricklink Designer Program can cater to fans who may want sets that are a little more niche, which seems like a great idea.
Awesome review. That set is absolutely fantastic. I used to dream of building sets like that when I was a kid in the 80s.
Nice review.
I still loathe them for how they (under) produced and launched it improperly. So many AFOLs who wanted this set will never get the chance to own it, which is a crime for such a nice set homaging a classic theme that many of us love dearly from our childhood. They managed to take the worst aspect of Lego VIP (items that are instantly out of stock or permanently unavailable) and brought that experience to an actual large set intended for general audiences.
Little did I realize at the time, but it was such a blow to morale that I've hardly bought any Lego sets since. They basically wrecked AFOL-hood for me for a time, by failing to rectify that issue and leaving the set unavailable for most of us except via exorbitant markup on reseller sites.
Pity it was impossible to buy. They should do another production run of this set, seeing as it is in a high demand. Ebay prices are completely crazy
Absolutely beautiful set. So beautiful in fact, they should produce 10,000 more so I can get one. I really hope the rumors of the 90th anniversary castle are true.
Excellent review. Merlons is misspelled as melons.
I decided to Bricklink the parts and waiting for the final pieces from Bricks & Pieces to arrive. It cost me about €250 minus the sticker sheet. Now all I have to do is find the box…
This set is a bit like a rare wine, and definitely worth it. I was lucky enough to secure one for my collection and I am waiting for just the right day to assemble it. Thank you for the excellent review.
I was fortunate enough to purchase one last summer. I was too impatient to wait for it t0 ship and bricklinked the pieces to build it. I'll keep the sealed one for a rainy day.
It is a great build, can't wait for Castle of Brickwood Forest to get released!
I was fortunate enough to buy one, and unfortunate enough to have it sent back right back after delivery. Good thing that it's made up of standard parts though.
Thanks for the excellent review!
Too overdesigned for my taste. There's an elegance to Lego's designs that fan-made models just don't capture.
That comparison pic with medieval blacksmith is interesting. As fantastic as medieval blacksmith is, its scale ruins any opportunity to combine it with other sets. It’s way too big to fit in with other castle and medieval sets. By proportions, it fits into a row of modulars, but that doesn’t work thematically.
@iwybs said:
"Excellent review. Merlons is misspelled as melons."
Fixed. Thanks for pointing that out.
"For any castle enthusiast, this is a must-have set."
Scalpers agree with that, as the set is always $400 or higher second-hand. At least there is the upcoming Lion King's Castle and 31120 Medieval Castle available.
@yacoub said:
"Nice review.
I still loathe them for how they (under) produced and launched it improperly. So many AFOLs who wanted this set will never get the chance to own it, which is a crime for such a nice set homaging a classic theme that many of us love dearly from our childhood. They managed to take the worst aspect of Lego VIP (items that are instantly out of stock or permanently unavailable) and brought that experience to an actual large set intended for general audiences.
Little did I realize at the time, but it was such a blow to morale that I've hardly bought any Lego sets since. They basically wrecked AFOL-hood for me for a time, by failing to rectify that issue and leaving the set unavailable for most of us except via exorbitant markup on reseller sites. "
And then there's the whole mess even if you were lucky enough to place orders. Lego won't help with any problems. You're just out of luck. I've ordered 7 different sets. Still have yet to receive anything.
Thanks for the nice reviews. Unfortunately, they're quite bittersweet for many of us. :(
The set has just under 2000 pieces, but appears to have far more with no pieces too unusual or long discontinued making individual bricklinking possible, but the whole point of Lego Ideas was to avoid the far greater expense of doing this.
This is just a fan remake with extra steps.
Yeah, this is an 80s castle fan's wet dream, to the point where it's almost a 'realistic' remake of the forestmen sets. I say 'realistic' because actual castles weren't as grey back then as they are now, amongst other things. Not to mention that forestmen were based on folk tales. It's very AFOL moc esque, but I have to give it credit for the sensible layout and the hidden exit and trapdoor at least.
But yeah, it's nice to see what the set actually entailed that none of us managed to get a chance to buy. The distribution was absolutely atrocious of lego. Even though I'm not a fan of the vocal minority asking for castle to return, I agree that this should have just been produced by ideas. It's a good set design for the most part (by virtue of being based on 80s sets).
And the release that they did do... why so limited? Let people who want it just buy it. Can the world's biggest toy manufacturer not muster up enough competency to make money from demand that is there? And if they can't, why go through the trouble of releasing too few of them?
Those super high profits in their yearly reports always feel so unearned with the decreasing part quality and bad digital services like lego's VIP and Bricklink designer programs.
I hate scalpers, but I feel absolutely no shame having bought two of these to resell to Castle fans. By far the most insufferable fanbase in this hobby.
Castles are literally the most simple thing to build, but you people are keep begging for them like entitled little children. Just get some grey bricks for ****s sake.
Absolutely wasting the slot for the 90th anniversary set. Any other theme than Castle would've been better. I never even cared about Bionicle, but I even would've preffered that theme instead of Castle. They're gonna revive the theme someday anyway, but you keep clawing at any chance to get one like they're never gonna do that.
Sorry for this little rant. Got nothing against casual fans of Castle. Just the ones that act like it's the only thing that matters.
Wish 1516 wasn't a Bible reference
Well that escalated quickly
There is a corner spot of the blue plate in the directions for the crab to be placed.
Well, I'm impressed! But it also looks... a lot smaller than I would have expected? I dunno. I would have expected there to be more interior space?
Still, seeing it up close in the photos like this, I definitely like this. Thanks for the thorough review!
@alegrispa said:
"I hate scalpers, but I feel absolutely no shame having bought two of these to resell to Castle fans. By far the most insufferable fanbase in this hobby.
Castles are literally the most simple thing to build, but you people are keep begging for them like entitled little children. Just get some grey bricks for ****s sake.
Absolutely wasting the slot for the 90th anniversary set. Any other theme than Castle would've been better. I never even cared about Bionicle, but I even would've preffered that theme instead of Castle. They're gonna revive the theme someday anyway, but you keep clawing at any chance to get one like they're never gonna do that.
Sorry for this little rant. Got nothing against casual fans of Castle. Just the ones that act like it's the only thing that matters."
So you HATE scalpers, and don't like castle, but bought 2 of these just to resell to fans (on premium I suppose). Sounds like a scalper to me xD
To anyone interested, the Round 3 prices were announced last night. Many are close to 10¢ per piece, which I understand is a trusted gauge for many fans of a set’s value.
Personally, I’m only interested in the modular construction site; which is still $320.
Notably (and maybe @huw can have LAN shed some light on this), the BrickWest Studios set has seemingly had all minifigures removed and been increased $80. It was originally $270, with minifigures, when it was part of Round 2 prior to the “Rust” on-set shooting.
@alegrispa said:
"I hate scalpers, but I feel absolutely no shame having bought two of these to resell to Castle fans."
You should.
Wonderfull review thank you.
You could do a follow up and compare it with the 3 old forestmen sets.
I’m honestly surprised they didn’t re-consider releasing this as a traditional Ideas set. Maybe it would’ve been better to see how the Blacksmith was doing sales wise before giving this hideout another look. After all, wouldn’t AFOL Castle fans enjoy having multiple large locations in their kingdoms?
I am glad LEGO went through the effort to try bringing some of these sets to life! I just don’t think BrickLink is a very practical compromise. It seemed like getting parts was always an issue, and they couldn’t just skip out on those like they can with traditional Ideas sets,
I never received mine. Lego cancelled my order. :(
It is a shame that the old forestmen's hat was not utilized, especially considering that LEGO has apparently revived the piece in 2022 for 71032-3 and 10309. I wish that the Anno 1392 date had been retained as by the time any structure built in Anno 1516 is starting to get old, we are well out of the Middle Ages in most of Europe with the increasingly widespread use of guns (both artillery and small arms) drastically changing how castles were constructed.
@alegrispa:
I think a primary concern for many Castle AFOLs is not obtaining the castle bricks themselves per se but the accompanying minifigs, horses, weapons, shields, and other accessories (body armor, helms/headgear, plumes, saddles, faction flags, etc.) that often command exorbitantly high prices second-hand due to scarcity.
@LordDunsany said:
"It is a shame that the old forestmen's hat was not utilized, especially considering that LEGO has apparently revived the piece in 2022 for 71032-3 and 10309 . "
I don't think it was really "revived" for 2022, it was used a few more times in the past 5 years :
2017 - Green : 70358
2018 - Dark Green : 70919
2020 - Light Grey : 60271
So sad I wasn’t able to get this one when it launched… I managed to order three sets from the second review round though!
Maybe an idea for a news report on the front page: the prices for the third round of bricklink designer program sets have been added yesterday.
@alegrispa said:
"I hate scalpers, but I feel absolutely no shame having bought two of these to resell to Castle fans. By far the most insufferable fanbase in this hobby.
Castles are literally the most simple thing to build, but you people are keep begging for them like entitled little children. Just get some grey bricks for ****s sake.
Absolutely wasting the slot for the 90th anniversary set. Any other theme than Castle would've been better. I never even cared about Bionicle, but I even would've preffered that theme instead of Castle. They're gonna revive the theme someday anyway, but you keep clawing at any chance to get one like they're never gonna do that.
Sorry for this little rant. Got nothing against casual fans of Castle. Just the ones that act like it's the only thing that matters."
By buying two of these sets and reselling them, you helped the set sell out so quickly and showed people would pay exorbitant amounts for Castle sets. So the next time Lego releases a new Castle set, know that you played a small part in making that possible. Good job!
Great review, FlagsNZ, thanks!
One point I’d add for anyone who is still waiting to build their own, there are at least two instances of parts appearing in bags that actually don’t get used until later - so don’t fret like I did that you might have missed a step! I think I recall a similar issue mentioned during the review of Kakapo (910017)…? I’m also glad that your review confirms that the 2x2 jumper plate is a spare.
Also, mini-rant… I hate stickers on shields. LEGO, please, please, please, don’t do that again…! :)
@alegrispa said:
"I hate scalpers, but I feel absolutely no shame having bought two of these to resell to Castle fans. By far the most insufferable fanbase in this hobby.
Castles are literally the most simple thing to build, but you people are keep begging for them like entitled little children. Just get some grey bricks for ****s sake.
Absolutely wasting the slot for the 90th anniversary set. Any other theme than Castle would've been better. I never even cared about Bionicle, but I even would've preffered that theme instead of Castle. They're gonna revive the theme someday anyway, but you keep clawing at any chance to get one like they're never gonna do that.
Sorry for this little rant. Got nothing against casual fans of Castle. Just the ones that act like it's the only thing that matters."
You absolutely hate Scalpers, yet you scalped one of these sets either out of desire for the money or out of spite. If you did it for the money, that’s on you. I don’t like the practice, but at least I understand it. If you did for the spite, you’re childish. You went completely out of your way to make it hard for someone to get a set they were excited for because you found some Castle fans annoying.
Castles are not just a hunk of grey bricks. Castle as a theme isn’t just about literal castles. You’ve got knights, wizards, archers, dragons, magic, all sorts of stuff to work with in a fantasy setting where imagination lets you fill in the blanks! Some people don’t have the time or money to build their own designs, or simply prefer to just build a kit.
Now I find people whining about not getting XYZ theme as much as the next guy. I get so annoyed seeing complaints about a certain theme not being made instead of whatever new set is released (looking at you Classic Space, Pirates, and Castle!). But when they do get new stuff, I am not angry at them. I’m happy they’re getting something that they enjoy.
One last thing. Do you know how hard it’s been to be a Bionicle fan the past few years? Every other theme’s fan base seemingly making fun of your favorite theme for not using the same bricks? Seeing the reboot fail so spectacularly? Greg leaving the company? Bionicle isn’t like other LEGO themes because it’s based in Constraction. Those parts aren’t even made anymore! I’m happy whenever Bionicle gets even just a small shoutout on a sticker at this point.
@TeriXeri:
My bad; apparently the reissued Forestmen's hat has been sporadically used since 2009 (I did not realize that it was a different part number from the original hat). So there is even less excuse for not including one of these in this set!
@alegrispa said:
"I hate scalpers, but I feel absolutely no shame having bought two of these to resell to Castle fans. By far the most insufferable fanbase in this hobby.
Castles are literally the most simple thing to build, but you people are keep begging for them like entitled little children. Just get some grey bricks for ****s sake.
Absolutely wasting the slot for the 90th anniversary set. Any other theme than Castle would've been better. I never even cared about Bionicle, but I even would've preffered that theme instead of Castle. They're gonna revive the theme someday anyway, but you keep clawing at any chance to get one like they're never gonna do that.
Sorry for this little rant. Got nothing against casual fans of Castle. Just the ones that act like it's the only thing that matters."
“I hate scalpers!”
*is a scalper*
“I hate the demand for castle sets!”
*contributes to the demand for castle sets*
@alegrispa said:
"I hate scalpers, but I feel absolutely no shame having bought two of these to resell to Castle fans. By far the most insufferable fanbase in this hobby.
Castles are literally the most simple thing to build, but you people are keep begging for them like entitled little children. Just get some grey bricks for ****s sake.
Absolutely wasting the slot for the 90th anniversary set. Any other theme than Castle would've been better. I never even cared about Bionicle, but I even would've preffered that theme instead of Castle. They're gonna revive the theme someday anyway, but you keep clawing at any chance to get one like they're never gonna do that.
Sorry for this little rant. Got nothing against casual fans of Castle. Just the ones that act like it's the only thing that matters."
Might be one of the most misguided and petty comments I've ever seen on Brickset...but what's with all the people who thumbed it up? Fellow scalpers?
I really like that i seem to have enough pieces in my inventory to build this castle straight away. Only thing missing are those stickers, but that is not important. Lovely castle, great references to classic forestmen sets. Thanks for the detailed review, can't wait for the boat review!
"Overall opinion - For any castle enthusiast, this is a must-have set"
Ah... Given you can't really buy it, I would say it's a weird way to summarize the review.
@FlagsNZ said:
" @iwybs said:
"Excellent review. Merlons is misspelled as melons."
Fixed. Thanks for pointing that out."
Excellent review and set of pictures! Even though it is most unlikely that I will ever have this set, I thoroughly enjoyed reading about it.
One misspelling: ‘axel’ should be ‘axle’. An ‘axel’ is a jump in figure skating.
@Zander said:
"(...)
An ‘axel’ is a jump in figure skating."
Check out the badass theme to 'Beverly Hills Cop' :-D
@Zander said:
" @FlagsNZ said:
" @iwybs said:
"Excellent review. Merlons is misspelled as melons."
Fixed. Thanks for pointing that out."
Excellent review and set of pictures! Even though it is most unlikely that I will ever have this set, I thoroughly enjoyed reading about it.
One misspelling: ‘axel’ should be ‘axle’. An ‘axel’ is a jump in figure skating.
"
I've fixed that mistake, too.
For anyone like me who missed out on this, there are a few great castles on Rebrickable based on multiple sets of 31120.
I think one of the biggest cons for these sets is the lack of printed instructions. Unless you plan to keep your sets together once they are built, how will fans find the instructions 10-20 years from now when they are nostalgic for the "old" sets?
@m_rabourn said:
"I think one of the biggest cons for these sets is the lack of printed instructions. Unless you plan to keep your sets together once they are built, how will fans find the instructions 10-20 years from now when they are nostalgic for the "old" sets?"
If only there were websites with databases of every instruction manual for every set ever made....if only.....
@empire0 said:
" @m_rabourn said:
"I think one of the biggest cons for these sets is the lack of printed instructions. Unless you plan to keep your sets together once they are built, how will fans find the instructions 10-20 years from now when they are nostalgic for the "old" sets?"
If only there were websites with databases of every instruction manual for every set ever made....if only....."
I am still disappointed in not having printed instructions but then I am old and perhaps out of touch.
@m_rabourn said:
" @empire0 said:
" @m_rabourn said:
"I think one of the biggest cons for these sets is the lack of printed instructions. Unless you plan to keep your sets together once they are built, how will fans find the instructions 10-20 years from now when they are nostalgic for the "old" sets?"
If only there were websites with databases of every instruction manual for every set ever made....if only....."
I am still disappointed in not having printed instructions but then I am old and perhaps out of touch.
"
Hey fair enough, I still use the paper instructions with my sets, even though it would be way easier to use digital. I'm not old, but I am stubborn
@empire0 said:
" @m_rabourn said:
" @empire0 said:
" @m_rabourn said:
"I think one of the biggest cons for these sets is the lack of printed instructions. Unless you plan to keep your sets together once they are built, how will fans find the instructions 10-20 years from now when they are nostalgic for the "old" sets?"
If only there were websites with databases of every instruction manual for every set ever made....if only....."
I am still disappointed in not having printed instructions but then I am old and perhaps out of touch.
"
Hey fair enough, I still use the paper instructions with my sets, even though it would be way easier to use digital. I'm not old, but I am stubborn"
LEGO is a premium product for which we pay premium prices, particularly for these Bricklink sets and printed instructions should be included in my opinion (although I guess they would charge even more). I have used digital instructions for a few sets but found myself going back to the old printed manuals...it is a somewhat different experience to me.
This is not really what LEGO is about to me, regarding the whole process of releasing limited runs of "sets" through alternative channels. I rarely buy new sets anymore, so adding hurdles reduces my interest to pretty much zero.
The second accompanying castle reaching 10 000 supporters twice means nothing. It could be the same 10 000 fans of the original submission revoting.
It's too bad those castle sets are so sought after though. It's clear they'll be remaking the theme one day, especially with how popular the Blacksmith was and now this. And with how they're making more and more adult-oriented sets, I'd say in 10 years we'll see a collection of high-level castle sets around...
@PixelTheDragon said:
"One last thing. Do you know how hard it’s been to be a Bionicle fan the past few years? Every other theme’s fan base seemingly making fun of your favorite theme for not using the same bricks? Seeing the reboot fail so spectacularly? Greg leaving the company? Bionicle isn’t like other LEGO themes because it’s based in Constraction. Those parts aren’t even made anymore! I’m happy whenever Bionicle gets even just a small shoutout on a sticker at this point. "
Like I said, I would’ve preferred a Bionicle anniversary-set to Castle, especially because you guys are constantly being excluded and screwed over. I genuinely appreciate the Bionicle fanbase. Your dedication and creativity. I was never into the theme myself, but I always saw it as a valid part of the system.
" You absolutely hate Scalpers, yet you scalped one of these sets either out of desire for the money or out of spite. If you did it for the money, that’s on you. I don’t like the practice, but at least I understand it. If you did for the spite, you’re childish. You went completely out of your way to make it hard for someone to get a set they were excited for because you found some Castle fans annoying. "
Honestly, I did it mostly because I knew it was a sure thing, and with the mindset that I’m not doing it for profit, but just to get a little money to buy some sets I wanted when I was little. I can’t justify paying after-market prices on 12-14 year old sets while I still gotta support my mother and little brother.
And while I do have disdain for all those constantly whiny Castle fans, I may have fueled that in order to feel less bad about what I’m doing. Also helps that most Castle fans are middle aged white men, the most privileged demographic on the planet.
@Wrecknbuild:
So, what, you’re going to just toss that out there and not explain what happened?
Very frustrating time when the system locked me out and only finally worked after the rush was over and all sets sold out, twice as many in fact!
But a LUG mate bought two and offered me one at cost, so I still ended up getting one. No way would I ever buy it at after market prices. Likely could bricklink it though. With the current prices I can’t justify opening it, so will have to bricklink it anyway. (It’s like the cool Star Wats set they released that was a con exclusive. Can’t justify opening it and losing the value. And I’m not a Sealed set collector)
I have heard this set wasn’t designed how Lego would and you confirmed it. Some neat features though for sure.
And I agree on the earlier date should have been included due to when they would actually be using this type of structure. 1500s seems too late for this genre.
@MisterBrickster said:
"Too overdesigned for my taste. There's an elegance to Lego's designs that fan-made models just don't capture. "
Oh good, I was worried I was the only one who thought that. Not a particular fan of the “more pieces automatically equals better build” mindset a lot of these fan ideas seem to have
Set looks great but this is not a forestman build. Way too many visible walls, not enough propper foliage and wood.
@yacoub said:
"Nice review.
I still loathe them for how they (under) produced and launched it improperly. So many AFOLs who wanted this set will never get the chance to own it, which is a crime for such a nice set homaging a classic theme that many of us love dearly from our childhood. They managed to take the worst aspect of Lego VIP (items that are instantly out of stock or permanently unavailable) and brought that experience to an actual large set intended for general audiences.
Little did I realize at the time, but it was such a blow to morale that I've hardly bought any Lego sets since. They basically wrecked AFOL-hood for me for a time, by failing to rectify that issue and leaving the set unavailable for most of us except via exorbitant markup on reseller sites. "
This is a near-perfect summary.
It was a great set to build and is one of the few sets I have on display in my library at home.
For those unable to get the set, you can always bricklink the pieces. The directions are online.
Got two of those sets. Initially, I thought I would sell one to offset the price of both but when I got them this winter, I decided to keep them both. By then, I had a pretty large sealed LEGO box collection that I was planning on leaving to my kids in the future. And they fit right in. Each of my kids would get one, and life was good.
But then, about a month ago, when Star Wars diorama prices were revealed, I felt like I did not care about collecting boxes any longer and I proceeded to sell about 80% of my sealed box collection on my BL store (where I usually only sell extra parts and minifigs). My two copies of this set were amongst those.
Somehow, I don’t feel guilty nor do I consider myself a scalper.
[I am keeping the money for my kids, btw, don’t worry. I’m just going to invest it somewhere else than in LEGO boxes…]
One more thing: no, I just don’t collect boxes. I also do (not so great) mocs and built most of the sets I buy. Collecting sealed boxes was just one of the things I was doing with LEGO. Not anymore. I’ll keep on building however.
I guess I am one of the few that thought this set was not good, because it failed to portray the original vibe and esthetic of the very theme it tried to pay homage to...
I mean: this is a castle with a tree next to it. There is no symbiotic relation between nature and culture like in the original sets.
@alegrippa said:
" @PixelTheDragon said:
"One last thing. Do you know how hard it’s been to be a Bionicle fan the past few years? Every other theme’s fan base seemingly making fun of your favorite theme for not using the same bricks? Seeing the reboot fail so spectacularly? Greg leaving the company? Bionicle isn’t like other LEGO themes because it’s based in Constraction. Those parts aren’t even made anymore! I’m happy whenever Bionicle gets even just a small shoutout on a sticker at this point. "
Like I said, I would’ve preferred a Bionicle anniversary-set to Castle, especially because you guys are constantly being excluded and screwed over. I genuinely appreciate the Bionicle fanbase. Your dedication and creativity. I was never into the theme myself, but I always saw it as a valid part of the system.
" You absolutely hate Scalpers, yet you scalped one of these sets either out of desire for the money or out of spite. If you did it for the money, that’s on you. I don’t like the practice, but at least I understand it. If you did for the spite, you’re childish. You went completely out of your way to make it hard for someone to get a set they were excited for because you found some Castle fans annoying. "
Honestly, I did it mostly because I knew it was a sure thing, and with the mindset that I’m not doing it for profit, but just to get a little money to buy some sets I wanted when I was little. I can’t justify paying after-market prices on 12-14 year old sets while I still gotta support my mother and little brother.
And while I do have disdain for all those constantly whiny Castle fans, I may have fueled that in order to feel less bad about what I’m doing. Also helps that most Castle fans are middle aged white men, the most privileged demographic on the planet."
You’re seriously pulling the race card here? You know there are more AFOLs than just middle aged white people, right? And even then, that’s a terrible reason to justify this. These people just wanted the same LEGO set you did, and there’s nothing malicious about that.
You say you don’t have a profit-driven mindset, as you take an item purely to resell it for a higher price later. I’m calling bull on that. I sympathize with not being able to afford sets, and I sympathize with needing to make a buck, but the money from this isn’t going towards supporting your family. It’s going towards more toys. I wouldn’t have an issue with that if you weren’t trying to take the moral high ground for sympathy points.
You know what you are doing. We all know what you are doing. You could at least not try to make other fans look like the villains.
@eiffel006 said:
"Got two of those sets. Initially, I thought I would sell one to offset the price of both but when I got them this winter, I decided to keep them both. By then, I had a pretty large sealed LEGO box collection that I was planning on leaving to my kids in the future. And they fit right in. Each of my kids would get one, and life was good.
But then, about a month ago, when Star Wars diorama prices were revealed, I felt like I did not care about collecting boxes any longer and I proceeded to sell about 80% of my sealed box collection on my BL store (where I usually only sell extra parts and minifigs). My two copies of this set were amongst those.
Somehow, I don’t feel guilty nor do I consider myself a scalper.
[I am keeping the money for my kids, btw, don’t worry. I’m just going to invest it somewhere else than in LEGO boxes…]
One more thing: no, I just don’t collect boxes. I also do (not so great) mocs and built most of the sets I buy. Collecting sealed boxes was just one of the things I was doing with LEGO. Not anymore. I’ll keep on building however."
I think the key difference with reselling is intent. Scalping is a practice that intentionally lessens the supply to hike up prices, while this is just you selling stuff you no longer care for.
Amazing review, and amazing set. I agree that this set is a must-have for castle fans. Povoq did a great job designing this and helping LEGO Castle to make a return. This set inspired all of my LEGO Ideas Medieval Village builds:
Medieval Butcher https://ideas.lego.com/projects/be447ef0-c1e9-49e0-b127-4fed3f0fd022
Medieval Carpenter https://ideas.lego.com/projects/824b0fa1-0af4-45c1-b48e-85ba8ed5c010
Medieval Miller (Windmill) https://ideas.lego.com/projects/b71ea9c0-aedc-48f8-9e11-bf80fac2eb10
Medieval Guarded Grocer https://ideas.lego.com/projects/352ff9a0-3736-4893-aa19-6b016e0cc1ba
Medieval Library https://ideas.lego.com/projects/3640ed0d-cd88-4114-8620-7d89c6ed73ae
@lordofdragonss:
I had never really taken a close look at the final version before, but immediately spotted the stag shields. Then I saw that there’s a Black Falcon shield and suit of armor inside, and this set no longer makes any sense.
Huh. I am certainly a fan of the Forestmen theme (it's right there in my name). 6066 and 6077 were two of my favorite childhood sets. But this review (well done - thank you!) confirms my decision not to (at least try to) purchase this Bricklink set. It's nice, but something about it just doesn't "do it" for me. Glad others are enjoying it!
@PixelTheDragon said:
"And while I do have disdain for all those constantly whiny Castle fans, I may have fueled that in order to feel less bad about what I’m doing. Also helps that most Castle fans are middle aged white men, the most privileged demographic on the planet."
I'm a castle fan, and I neither middle aged, or male. I also don't think that white means privileged. Many white people come from deprived circumstances. I spent a number of years with the threat of baliffs. It has taken a long time to be in a position where I could afford an expensive set, yet I still balk at the price because I remember when we were threatened with the loss of the only means we had to get to work.
I was so disappointed that I couldn't buy it just because I live in Japan...
I'm still salty and sour over this system of acquiring this set.
I was lucky enough to get this set but haven’t had a chance to build it yet. Normally I’d open it up and build it right away, but we are in the process of moving to a new house and it’s just much easier to move a box than a built set. Hearing how fragile it is I’m really glad I decided to wait.
I never had a forestmen set as a kid, in fact, I only ever had two castle sets, 6080 and 6041, I was much more into space as a kid. However, 6080 was always my favorite set as a kid (also my largest). Today I’m still much more into space and primarily only get Star Wars sets, but the LOTR line got me interested in castles again.
Anyways, thanks for the review. I can’t wait to open this up and build it later this year!
@Samie said:
"I was so disappointed that I couldn't buy it just because I live in Japan...
I'm still salty and sour over this system of acquiring this set."
I live in Argentina. Same problem. Same feelings.
Is there any way to get this now? I desperately want it
I did get this set.
The box has also arrived not in perfect conditions. I don't know what the hell LEGO was doing when packing these sets.
The set itself it great. But after it, I will not be buying any more BrickLink Designer Program sets. Not only I don't like the use of stickers rather than prints, I'm ABSOLUTELY AGAINST the absence of a printed instructions manual.
In fact, if they had made it clear on the first round of funding that these sets would NOT have an instructions booklet, I wouldn't have purchased it.
I absolutely hate to use digital instructions.
@djcbs:
There’s nothing to be done for the instructions, short of printing your own copy. For the stickers, though, there are only seven in this set. Three are stag shields, so you could just buy original versions. Two are the Black Falcon flag, which exists in two versions, so again you could just buy a printed one. The Robin Hood portrait in the stairwell could be swapped out for a different tile, like the tall ship (probably not the Golden Gate Bridge). That just leaves the “Anno” sticker, and nobody would notice if you skipped that. It’s not like any of the vintage Castle sets had dates on them.
i missed this one but, got the safe and boat as well as two pursuit of flights.... im waiting on the safe and boat as i got them post 5000... the 2nd round i got ALL and the 3rd? we'll see-its a lot of money for a kid...
@PurpleDave said:
" @Wrecknbuild:
So, what, you’re going to just toss that out there and not explain what happened?"
Perhaps, they had a situation like mine.... Lego says it was delivered. I was home on that day- a Sunday. No doorbell ring. No package. I've never had any other package go missing ever (and I get a lot). Lego says, 'go pound sand'. At least I recieved a refund.
Has anyone else had their Bricklink Designer orders get mysteriously delivered/not delivered?
Looks awesome. You know its funny that now that LEGO owns Bricklink, these are like in a round about way official sets, but also not.
@PurpleDave said:
" @djcbs:
There’s nothing to be done for the instructions, short of printing your own copy. For the stickers, though, there are only seven in this set. Three are stag shields, so you could just buy original versions. Two are the Black Falcon flag, which exists in two versions, so again you could just buy a printed one. The Robin Hood portrait in the stairwell could be swapped out for a different tile, like the tall ship (probably not the Golden Gate Bridge). That just leaves the “Anno” sticker, and nobody would notice if you skipped that. It’s not like any of the vintage Castle sets had dates on them."
Two things:
1 - The old stag shields from the Forest men sets are expensive AF nowadays.
2 - You missed the entire point. I shouldn't have to go around spending extra money just because LEGO is lazy. These sets are crowdfunded and produced in a limited run. There's no reason why they can't just print a limited quantity of those pieces.
Not only that, the original BrickLink Designer Program has printed booklets. This is just another way LEGO found to cheap out.
If I have to go download the instructions and buy extra bricks to have a proper set, why on Earth would ANYONE buy any of these BDP sets? The instructions are made available for free to everyone. We might as well just part-out the sets and not give LEGO any money.
Which is exactly what I'm going to do with all future BDP sets I fancy. I'm not again crowdfunding a set just for LEGO to then cut corners and be lazy. I rather just part them out and give the money to someone else for the pieces.
These decisions were extremely misguided. And they pretty much ruined the appeal of the BDP for me.
@djcbs:
1. I assumed so. And the flags probably are too. You said you hated stickers, and I pointed out alternatives to using those stickers. I never claimed they would be affordable, just that they exist. My suggestions were aimed at keeping all seven stickers on the sticker sheet.
2. I preordered three copies of the Bionicle set, only to have them cancelled because of the “first to the gate” format they used, combined with the staggered crowdfunding waves. So, want to speak of fairness? I knew the instructions would be downloads, the boxes would be cheap, and that it would be the first time TLG has acknowledged the theme that saved the company in the last five years.
I don’t know why they opted for digital instructions this time, but I have two theories. Either Bricklink felt the printed booklets from the first program were too expensive and opted in to digital-only instructions to keep costs down, or TLG imposed that change on them because Bricklink is now part of the company. In the latter case, as long as BL was just a paying client, any additional expense would have been worked into the contract, and TLG would have profited either way. Once they bought BL, ultimately every expense comes off TLG’s bottom line. But we don’t know who made that decision, or why.